Ava Gardner

Lucy Johnson
1922 - 1990
American born Smithfield, North Carolina

Height 5' 6" (1.68 m) . Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window of her brother-in- law's New York photo studio brought her to the attention of MGM, leading quickly to Hollywood and a film contract based strictly on her beauty. With zero acting experience, her first 17 film roles, 1942-5, were one-line bits or little better. After her first starring role in B-grade Whistle Stop (1946), MGM loaned her to Universal for her first outstanding film, The Killers (1946). Few of her best films were made at MGM which, keeping her under contract for 17 years, used her popularity to sell many mediocre films. Perhaps as a result, she never believed in her own acting ability, but her latent talent shone brightly when brought out by a superior director, as with John Ford in Mogambo (1953) and George Cukor in Bhowani Junction (1956). After 3 failed marriages, dissatisfaction with Hollywood life prompted Ava to move to Spain in 1955; most of her subsequent films were made abroad. By this time, stardom had made the country girl a cosmopolitan, but she never overcame a deep insecurity about acting and life in the spotlight. Her last quality starring film role was in The Night of the Iguana (1964), her later work being (as she said) strictly "for the loot". In 1968, tax trouble in Spain prompted a move to London, where she spent her last 22 years in reasonable comfort. Her film career did not bring her great fulfillment, but her looks may have made it inevitable; many fans still consider her the most beautiful actress in Hollywood history. Spouse Frank Sinatra (7 November 1951 - 5 July 1957) (divorced), Artie Shaw (17 October 1945 - 25 October 1946) (divorced), Mickey Rooney (10 January 1942 - 21 May 1943) (divorced).

Harem (1986) , "Knots Landing" (1979) , The Long Hot Summer (1985) , "A.D." (1985) , Regina Roma (1982) , Priest of Love (1981) , The Kidnapping of the President (1980) , City on Fire (1979) , The Sentinel (1977) , The Cassandra Crossing (1976) , The Blue Bird (1976) , Permission to Kill (1975) , Earthquake (1974) , The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) , Tam Lin (1970) , Mayerling (1968) , The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) , The Night of the Iguana (1964) , Seven Days in May (1964) , 55 Days at Peking (1963) , The Angel Wore Red (1960), On the Beach (1959), The Naked Maja (1958) , The Sun Also Rises (1957) , The Little Hut (1957) , Bhowani Junction (1956) , The Barefoot Contessa (1954) , Mogambo (1953) , Ride, Vaquero! (1953) , Knights of the Round Table (1953) , The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), Lone Star (1952) , Show Boat (1951) , My Forbidden Past (1951) , Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) , East Side, West Side (1949) , The Great Sinner (1949) , The Bribe (1949) , One Touch of Venus (1948) , The Hucksters (1947) , Singapore (1947) , The Killers (1946) , Whistle Stop (1946) , She Went to the Races (1945) , Music for Millions (1944) , Blonde Fever (1944) ,Maisie Goes to Reno (1944) , Three Men in White (1944) , Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) , Lost Angel (1943) , Swing Fever (1943) , Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Young Ideas (1943) , Ghosts on the Loose (1943) , Hitler's Madman (1943) , Reunion in France (1942) , Mighty Lak a Goat (1942) , Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) , Sunday Punch (1942) , Kid Glove Killer (1942) , This Time for Keeps (1942) , Joe Smith, American (1942) , We Do It Because- (1942) , H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) , Fancy Answers (1941)